WHEN GOD LAUGHS, IT WON'T BE FUNNY
Posted by: preacher30673 <preacher30673@...>
Proverbs 1:20‐31
When God Laughs, It Won't Be Funny
Some of the most sobering verses in the Bible are found in this passage.
Now we must understand that when wisdom calls (“crieth”), it is Christ that is calling. He is the source of wisdom. Christ is the personification of wisdom (this is seen in chapter 8).
Paul said in the New Testament, “We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God,” (1 Corinthians 1:23‐24).
All the treasures of wisdom are hid in Him (Colossians 2:3). True wisdom can be found in no other place than the person of God (James 1:5). All the beautiful qualities of wisdom described in Proverbs are seen in Jesus Christ.
Here is the call of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.
WISDOM'S CALL
I. Wisdom is offered to all MEN (20-23)
A. Where WISDOM PLEADS
"Wisdom crieth without" - Wisdom is open and available to all. It is available to all who will hear. Wisdom is not hard to find if we have ears to hear and eyes to see.
Where does Wisdom advertise her presence? "She uttereth her voice in the streets; She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates]: in the city she uttereth her words." Wisdom is pleading in the crowded streets and in the market places. No matter where people find themselves they can hear Wisdom's call.
Christ calls, but He does not compel.
B. What WISDOM PLEADS
Wisdom pleads for the thoughtless multitude to stop, look, and listen. Proverbs 1:22 gives a specific example of her pleading: "How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?" Wisdom calls for the simple, the scornful, and the stupid to hear and hearken.
However, nothing could be farther from their minds than wisdom.
Wisdom calls the scorners, the simple, and the stupid to a spiritual experience. "Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you" (Proverbs 1:23). True wisdom turns away from the wisdom of this world (1 Corinthians 1:23-30), which knows little or nothing of God and is often sensual and devilish (James 3:15). The fear of the Lord is the beginning of true wisdom (Proverbs 9:10).
· REPENTANCE PROCEEDS CONVERSION - "turn you"
· CONVERSION PRECEDES THE GIVING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - "my spirit"
The indictment ---HOW LONG do you plan to stay in such a dangerous condition.
The invitation -- turn from your evil ways and receive what Wisdom has to offer.
II. Wisdom is offended by men (24-33)
Wisdom is insulted or slighted by men.
a. The Refusal (1:24-25)
Wisdom reproves men because the call is disregarded: "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded" (Proverbs 1:24). We can picture a pause between this verse and the preceding one as Wisdom takes its stand with arms outstretched at the great intersection of life. As the heedless surge past, Wisdom raises his voice to offer them Wisdom, but they ignore it. Yet how urgently Wisdom is needed!
Again may I say that the New Testament opens up this Old Testament passage and makes it clear that the "I" of these verses is God Himself.
Wisdom stands, calls, and is yet disregarded.
The call is despised too: "But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof" (Proverbs 1:25).
Man "refuses," "regards not" (turns away his eyes, closes his ears), "sets at nought," "will not have," "hates," does not choose (deliberately rejects), all the counsel of God.
No one can defy wisdom with suffering, even though the consequences of such folly may sometimes be long delayed.
2. The Reaction (1:26-28)
Wisdom's first reaction to the deliberate choice of folly is one of derision: "I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh" (Proverbs 1:26).
See Psalm 2:4: "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision."
God LAUGHS, not with delight, but with derision.
Another result of despising wisdom is desolation: "When your fear cometh as desolation" (Proverbs 1:27). Desolation involves waste. How much waste could be spared if we would only listen the call of Wisdom.
Despising wisdom also results in destruction: "And your destruction cometh as a whirlwind" (Proverbs 1:27). The word translated "destruction" here means "calamity."
Another consequence of ignoring Wisdom's call is distress: "When distress and anguish cometh upon you" (Proverbs 1:27). O, the suffering and torment that comes through ignoring Wisdom's call.
The end result of disregarding wisdom is desperation: "Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me" (Proverbs 1:28). There is a point in rebellion against God and neglect of His warnings, beyond which the sinner's destruction is certain and irreversible.
If men will not hearken, a time will come when all these calls of Wisdomwill but increase their anguish and misery.
3. The Reason (1:29-30)
Wisdom gives two reasons why the time comes when it can no longer be found. The first is that it has been detested: "They hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord" (Proverbs 1:29). The hate and the choice are linked together. People detest wisdom because wisdom cannot be separated from the fear of the Lord, and the fear of the Lord is the last thing to appeal to the unregenerate human heart. Many people want no part of any wisdom that directs their thoughts to God.
How terrible it is to detest wisdom simply because wisdom and God are inseparable.
The second reason Wisdom withdraws is that it has been despised: "They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof (Proverbs 1:30). Wisdom's patience is great but not endless. When Wisdom is despised once too often, it leaves us to ourselves.
4. The Result (1:31-33)
Proverbs 1:31 states the law of reaping: "Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices."
We cannot ignore wisdom without penalty. God's Word, the embodiment of the highest wisdom, cannot be set aside without consequences, although men in their folly always seem to think it can.
The significance of the passage is that, after a certain point of obstinate refusal has been past, God no longer pleads and strives with that man anymore. He "leaves him alone" (Hosea 4:17). He "gives him up" (Acts 7:42; Romans 1:26). He permits sin to do its own sad work in the soul, and to produce its own natural results in the life; He removes His restraining hand, and suffers them "to eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices" (ver. 31).
Conclusion
Proverbs 1:33 states "Whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil." Happy is the heart that that heeds the voice of Wisdom. For in heeding Wisdom he finds protection and peace.
IN HIS ETERNAL GRIP,
Pastor Jimmy Chapman
Victory Baptist Church
706-678-1855
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